Music for the Angels: Dixit Dominus and others at Karlsruhe

By Sandra Bowdler, 01 March 2017

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Reviewed at Christuskirche am Mühlburger Tor, Karlsruhe on 26 February 2017

Handel, Donna, che in ciel, HWV 233

Vivaldi, Nisi Dominus, RV 608

Corelli, Concerto grosso in D major, Op.6 no.4

Handel, Dixit Dominus in G minor, HWV 232

Jennifer France, Soprano

Ilkin Alpay, Soprano

Jakub Józef Orliński, Countertenor

Carsten Wiebusch, Conductor

Kammerchor der Christuskirche Karlsruhe

Deutsche Händel-Solisten

Handel's Alcina in Karlsruhe: a great production with great singing

Sandra Bowdler, 23rd February

Handel's Alcina at the Karlsruhe 2019 Handel Festival scores on all fronts, with two Australians taking the main roles.

****1

Reincarnation of Baroque ecstasy: Giulio Cesare at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 12th February

From Jakub Józef Orliński’s youthful radiance to Sandrine Piau’s sovereign mastery, this performance revives Baroque ecstasy through razor-sharp orchestration, muscular playing and inventive embellishments of unparalleled emotional depth.

*****

Semele at Dutch National Opera: myth, desire and fantasy

Mengguang Huang, 23rd January

Guth’s Semele turns myth into a contemporary domestic drama, where desire becomes obsession and illusion consumes reality. Handel’s music remains the true engine, driven by a thrilling, physically intense ensemble.

****1

Gala De Danza in London: a gathering of star quality in many genres

Amanda Jennings, 26th June

A gala to be remembered for the sheer number of stellar performances both in classical music and all forms of dance.

*****

Beyond conventions: Jakub Józef Orliński and Il Pomo d'Oro in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 30th November

Touring with the ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro, Jakub Józef Orliński reinvents the Baroque recital formula at the Berlin Philharmonic featuring breakdancing, an audience sing-along and a good deal of fun.

*****

272 years on, Handel's Theodora comes home to Covent Garden

David Karlin, 31st January

Superb singing from Joyce DiDonato and Jakub Józef Orliński lights up a curate's egg staging from Katie Mitchell.

***11

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Sandra Bowdler

Sandra Bowdler was born and educated in Sydney, and has pursued a career as an archaeologist since graduating from the University of Sydney in 1970. She is now Emeritus Professor of Archaeology and a Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia in the School of Social Sciences and the School of Music. Since attending a production of Handel’s opera Alcina at the Sydney Opera House in 1982, she has become a devotee of the works of GF Handel, and Baroque music generally. In 1996 she began writing opera reviews for online outlets, graduating to more professional sources by 2000. In 2007, she inaugurated Festival Baroque Australia in Perth, Western Australia, Australia’s first Baroque music festival. Under that banner, she curated two festivals and several concerts in Perth.